My foot on the gas pedal and eyes on the road, I drive through a practically empty highway with pine trees on each side of the road. Clouds fill the blue sky and the sun shines in my direction. I flip down the sun visor to block the sun from glaring in my eyes. I lightly bob my head along to the song "1901" by Phoenix as it plays on the radio. I glance over to my right, looking at Daniel in the passenger's seat. He's been really quiet for like 15 minutes. He's just staring straight ahead out the window and occasionally looking down at his hands in his lap. Something seems to be on his mind. Well, a lot is on my mind too. My eyes return to the road, my thoughts wandering off.

We haven't stepped foot in America since all of the...traumatic incidents that happened 2 years ago. Fleeing to Puerto Lobos, Mexico was our only choice in order for us to stay together. Daniel has been attending a middle school in Puerto Lobos, but because of his lack of Spanish, he hasn't been able to make friends so he feels left out and lonely during school. He hates going there because of it, so he fights me on it every single morning when I have to drive him to school. I've been trying to teach him Spanish every night, but he gets impatient a lot and frustrated at himself that he isn't learning fast enough. Daniel has been missing America, so that's why we're here. But being here again could be dangerous. I think the police have given up on trying to find us or most people have at least forgotten about it, but it still scares me to be back here. If it weren't for Daniel, I wouldn't take this risk. I couldn't handle him crying in bed every night because of how much he misses our grandparents and his friend Chris in America and just being able to speak English to other people again. Living in Puerto Lobos all this time has been tougher than I thought. I don't even want to think about all the things I've been doing in order for us to afford everything. It's been a struggle to even buy food. I know Daniel isn't eating enough. I always hear his stomach growling. It worries me that I won't be able to take care of him at all.

Even though I'm a little scared, it feels great to have a change of pace and take a little road trip with my lil bro. We're in Oregon right now, heading towards Gladstone which shouldn't be too far away by now. I rented a small cabin for us to stay at in a secluded part of the woods. I'm excited, but a little worried at the same time. My bum is so sore and tired of sitting in this seat for hours. Feels like I've been driving forever. Daniel and I had to sleep in the car last night because we can't afford a motel. Gladstone is 24 hours away from Puerto Lobos, so I've been driving for hours since yesterday. Kill me.

“Sean?” Daniel looks at me, his brown eyes full of innocence and sadness. “Will I ever see Chris again? I miss him...”

“I know, enano. You’ll see him again, I know you will.”

“I haven’t seen him in a million years!”

“It’s only been two years, Daniel.”

"Feels like forever ago. I just hope he’s okay... He didn’t respond to my last letter.”

“You’ve been obsessively checking the mailbox until it gave out and broke.” I lightly chuckle, remembering a few days ago when Daniel opened it for the fifth time using his power and the door broke off.

“Why would he not write me back, Sean? Is he...mad at me?”

"Why would he be mad at you?"

"I don't know..." He looks down, fidgeting his fingers like he regrets something. "I told him his drawings of superheroes looked like creepers from Minecraft."

"I'm sure he wouldn't stay mad at you because of that."

"Then why hasn't he replied? Did something bad happen to him?” His concerned eyes stare into mine, waiting for a hopeful answer.

“I’m sure he’s okay. Maybe he’s just been...busy.”

He nods his head, but I can tell he's still worried and not sure what to think.

"Where are we going anyway?"

"Gladstone, Oregon. It seems like a peaceful place to stay for a little vacation. You're the reason we're going on this trip anyway." I reach my hand over, tousling his hair.

"I like living in Puerto Lobos, Sean, because we don't have to run from the cops. But sometimes staying in that old tiny apartment makes me wanna blow it up. Plus, it stinks."

"That's because you don't bathe often enough, cave boy." I tease him.

"You're the one who wears the same clothes for dayssss! It stinks because of you, not me." he retorts, then looks down at his Power Bear action figure in his hands. "He agrees with me. Isn't that right, Power Bear?"

I chuckle, rolling my eyes with a smile.

"Wait! Sean!" he exclaims, sudden excitement filling his voice.

"What?"

"Grandma and grandpa live in Oregon, right?"

"Yeah. And actually, Gladstone is near Beaver Creek where they live."

"Can we please stop by and see them? Pleaseeee, Sean?" he pleads, folding his hands and staring at me with sad, puppy dog eyes.

"Yeah, I guess."

"YEAHHHH!" He excitedly raises his hands in the air while still holding onto his Power Bear action figure. "And I can walk over to Chris's house and finally see him!"

"Yep. But just don't get into any trouble when you're over there, okay?" I ask sternly.

"Okay, okay. I can't wait to play with Chris!" He childishly kicks his feet in excitement and bounces in his seat.

I hear the crinkling sound of a bag and Daniel munching away on the potato chips. His crunching is so loud that it's almost getting on my nerves. I glance over, horrified at the mess he's making.

"Daniel! You’re getting chips all over the car!" I scold, seeing chips everywhere.

"I didn’t mean to."

"Clean it up."

He wipes them off the seat and they drop onto the floor of the car. He flashes a mischievous, almost proud smile at me. I roll my eyes.

"I said to clean it up, not push them off the seat."

"But there's no trash can in here."

"Okay, whatever. We'll clean it when we get to the cabin."

Several quiet minutes pass, listening to the radio and occasionally digging my hand into the bag of chips for a little snack. They're perfectly salted.

"I'm so tired of seeing nothing but boring trees." Daniel complains as he rests his elbow on the side of the car door and rests his chin on his arm, staring out the window with an uninterested look, bored out of his mind.

"We'll be there soon."

"Hey, Sean?" In the corner of my eye, I see him look over at me.

"Yeah?"

"I really miss dad." Sorrow fills his voice. My heart aches.

"I know. Me too."

I turn up the volume of the music to distract myself so I won't cry. I hear Daniel rummaging in my backpack so I look over to see what he's doing. He's holding my worn, brown leather wallet and looking through it.

"Hey, Daniel! Don't steal my stuff!" I reach over to snatch it from him, but he pulls it away so I can't reach it.

"I'm not, I promise! I just want to see dad." He pulls out the small photo of dad that I always keep in my wallet. He stares at it with a heartbroken gaze and his eyes glisten with tears, longing to see him again. I haven't looked at that picture in a long time. He blinks and a teardrop rolls down his long black eyelashes. I close my eyes for a moment, turning my head away. It hurts.

"Daniel," I sigh, annoyed. "Put that back."

"Why?"

"Just put it back."

"No."

"Daniel!" I raise my voice in a scolding tone. "Just put it back! Now!"

"But I just--"

I quickly snatch the photo from him and carelessly drop it into the side pocket that's attached to the car door on my left.

"Not fair!" He pouts, furrowing his eyebrows at me and getting an attitude. "Why can't I just look at dad? I miss him!"

I ignore him, looking out the window and blinking several times, trying so hard to hold back the tears that are begging to escape.

"I just wanna see dad, Sean." he says, but I pretend that I don't even hear him.

I rest my left elbow on the car door and anxiously rub along the side of my face and chin while keeping my other hand on the steering wheel. I fidget with the collar of my dark gray hoodie, just doing whatever I can to distract myself to prevent the tears from coming.

"Let me have the picture, pleaseee?" he whines and unbuckles his seat belt. He leans towards me, holding out both hands as he waits for me to give it back.

"Daniel, stop. Put your seat belt back on."

He lunges over me, getting in the way and blocking my view from the road as he tries to reach for the picture.

"DANIEL, STOP!" I shout, pushing him away. "You can look at it later, but not now! Don't do things like that when I'm driving!"

He grunts, irritated that he's not getting his way. He plops his bum down and slams his back into his seat. He crosses his arms and huffs, sulking like a big baby.

"You're so mean, Sean." he grumbles, pouting.

"Whatever, dude." I scoff.

I glance down, realizing I can visibly see the photo. Dad's face, his voice, his smile, his hugs, his advice... I really miss him so much. I squeeze my eyes shut for a second, refusing to surrender to the tears. I need to stay strong for Daniel. I can't have a breakdown in front of him. His body is turned away from me, staring out the window. I should put the picture somewhere else while he's not paying attention. I grab it and slide it back into my wallet. I toss the wallet into my backpack and zip it up, getting the photo as far away from sight as possible.

I stop at a gas station on the side of the road. It looks shady, but it's the only nearest gas station around. I turn to Daniel, his back still turned away from me and ignoring me. Now I feel kinda bad for yelling at him.

"Hey, Superwolf?" I speak softly, putting my hand on his shoulder and lightly shaking him so he'll look at me.

He doesn't say anything, refusing to even look at me. I should try to cheer him up a bit.

"'Hey, Daniel, you have to be strong like me and answer your big bro.'" I speak in a silly deeper voice as I hold his Power Bear action figure and wiggle it in front of Daniel's face, pretending that it's talking to him. He grabs it from me, not even cracking a little smile.

"Do you hate dad, Sean?" he asks straightforwardly, finally looking at me as his eyes plead for an answer.

"What? No, I don't. Why are you asking that?"

"Because you won't let me look at the photo of him and you always hide it away."

"That's not because I hate him."

"Then why?"

I stay silent, staring into Daniel's deep brown eyes as he waits for me to answer. A lump in my throat, I can't get myself to say anything. Pain sears through my aching heart. Tears slowly fill my eyes and drip down. I quickly look away in the opposite direction, wiping them away with my long sleeve. I get out of the car without saying a word, slamming the door behind me. I lean my back against the side of the car and look up towards the blue sky, a few white fluffy clouds slowly passing by.

"I love and miss you so much, dad." I whisper, my voice cracking as a few more tears roll down my face. "I don't know what I'm doing, dad... Me and Daniel are so alone out here in the world without you. I could really use your advice and encouragement right now."

I close my eyes, feeling the gentle breeze on my face and ruffling through my brown hair. I open my eyes and take a deep breath, trying to regain my composure.

I stand beside my car quietly with my gaze down as I wait for the gas to fill up the car. Fond memories flood my mind of when dad taught me how to drive and how to fill a car with fuel. He kept cracking jokes and made the learning experience fun and memorable. He was always so bright and positive about everything. I wish I would've told him I loved him more. I wish I could still hug him. I hesitantly look up slowly and I spot a police officer. My heart drops. I quickly turn around, my back facing him so he won't recognize me. My heart pounds and my hands tremble as I remove the gas pump nozzle from the fuel filler of my car. I hop into the car and start the engine. We need to get out of here. Fast.

"Hey, Daniel, did the cop notice yo--" I freeze when I look to the passenger's seat.

Oh my god... Where's Daniel?!

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To Be Continued...

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A/N: Were you reading this in Sean and Daniel's voices? Because I sure was. Lol XD Please comment and Like my story if you wanna know what happens next! It needs some love. <3

Here’s a link if you wanna read more: https://www.quotev.com/story/15596289/Life-Is-Strange-2-Reunited/1

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